


Hollyhocks

by lovelyanxieties



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Flirty Hinata Shouyou, Grinding, Implied Sexual Content, Iwaizumi and Oikawa try to parent Kageyama, M/M, Married Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Minor Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Minor Yachi Hitoka/Yamaguchi Tadashi, Pro Volleyball Player Kageyama Tobio, Punk Hinata Shouyou, Punk Yamaguchi Tadashi, Sexting if you squint, Sloppy Makeouts, Tattoo Artist Hinata Shouyou, Tattoo Artist Terushima Yuuji, Tattoo Artist Yachi Hitoka, Tattoo Artist Yamaguchi Tadashi, kageyama is a gay disaster
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:07:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27287641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovelyanxieties/pseuds/lovelyanxieties
Summary: Tobio wakes up in a bathtub.Homosexuality ensues.| An au where Hinata gave up on volleyball, leading to him and Kageyama never meeting| Kinda canon-compliant, but had a lot of changes
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Terushima Yuuji/Yachi Hitoka/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 7
Kudos: 173





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this story is a mess; i put chapter two in chapter one because I want this story to only be to chapters so have fun with that

Tobio knew he made a collection of bad ideas when he woke up in the bathtub fully clothed.

The bathroom itself was surprisingly clean, excluding a few thrown around towels and a knocked over set of cotton swabs, and the air fresher covered the disgusting smell of vomit fairly well. Tobio managed to get himself out of his porcelain bed without cracking his head open, but standing was too much of a task for his hungover body, and he doubled over immediately to throw up into the - thankfully open - toilet.

The taste of vomit is never pleasing, but combine it with the aftertaste of tequila and salsa, and you have a mixture of regret on your hands.

Tobio sniffed when he finished throwing up his guts, flushed the mess down, and turned on the sink to drink some water. He sighed at the cold touch, not even bothered by the weird taste of tap water. He stood there for a few good minutes to make sure he could walk without needing to vomit before walking out into the decently-lit hallway. The apartment wasn't noisy, making it easy for Tobio to hear the faint groaning from the living room.

Now that he was walking, Tobio could feel a terrible pain in his back. It was a burn along with a stabbing sensation. He figured it must be from how he was sleeping, or he was lying on something. He was sleeping in a bathtub, after all.

Inside the living room, Tadashi was hanging off the couch upside-down, head placed on a throw pillow and arms hanging loosely at his side. He wasn't asleep, evident by his half-open eyes and the low groaning noise he was making. Unlike Tobio, he was missing his shirt, exposing his freckled, tattooed upper body. Tobio cautiously approached his best friend.

"Are you okay?" He asked in the lowest voice he could provide. Just speaking brought a small sting to his forehead.

Tadashi groaned again, this time louder, and made a small movement to touch his stomach. "Am I dead? Is this Heaven?" Tadashi slowly looked up at Tobio and narrowed his eyes. "No, you'd never make it into here."

"Alright, asshole," Tobio hissed, sitting down on the couch, "you're not dead."

Sighing, Tadashi lifted himself. Just like Tobio, he started gagging at the quick movement. Thankfully, he didn't throw up as Tobio had. After a few minutes of sitting in silence, Tadashi crawled over Tobio to grab his shirt, which he smelled before putting on. Tobio slapped his best friend's shoulder, and the two stood up. This time, they were careful to keep their movements slow. Despite this, the pain in Tobio's back was still there, much worse than a few minutes ago.

"Where are we?" Tadashi asked, leading Tobio to the decently-sized kitchen. He opened up the fridge and sighed. "Who needs this much almond milk?"

Tobio leaned back to look into the fridge; it had about three cartons of almond milk inside, along with every kind of fruit and vegetable Tobio had ever seen in his life. In short, it was all healthy food, and not what neither he nor Tadashi were looking for. Both of them needed sugar after getting drunk. It was a time-honored tradition for them to eat whipped cream, candy, and ice cream after a night out drinking.

"Judging by all the healthy food and postcards, I'd say Hajime's apartment."

Tadashi closed a cupboard after failing to find anything sweet. "Yeah, but why?"

"How much did you drink?"

"Enough to completely forget what we did past 7 PM yesterday."

Tobio laughed. "Dude, Hitoka is gonna kill you.”

Tadashi shrugged, smiling at the mere mention of his girlfriend - and Kageyama's other best friend.

"Why are you guys still here?"

The duo turned their attention to the side to find Hajime walking towards them. His hair was a mess, his shirtless body covered in marks varying from kisses to bites, and one Oikawa Tooru was holding onto him like a koala, face pressed into his neck. Tooru's hair was a disaster of knots and tangles, and his skin was covered in more marks than Iwaizumi's own.

Tadashi made a disgusted face. "If you fucked while Tobio and I were here, I'm glad I don't remember anything from last night."

"And we're still here because we just woke up, and we're hungover," Tobio defended, jumping up onto the island to make room for his old upperclassman and soon-to-be athletic trainer.

Ah, yes.

That's why they'd gone out for drinks.

Tobio had received the news that he would be joining Japan's volleyball team with Hajime as the athletic trainer. Tadashi was in the city with Hitoka to celebrate, and Tooru had flown in from Argentina for unrelated business, so the group decided to celebrate together. How they got from Point A - the bar - to Point B - Hajime's apartment - remained a mystery, along with the ever-present pain in his back.

"Do you have a single sweet thing in this place?" Tobio asked, now joining Tadashi in his search for something that wasn't healthy or full of protein.

"Yeah, me," Tooru mumbled, fixing his grip on Iwaizumi's body, "but I'm reserved."

"I'm sure you taste shitty," Tadashi mumbled. He made a frustrated groan when he once again couldn't find anything sweet. "Hajime, you need to learn how to spoil yourself once in a while."

Hajime shrugged as he grabbed a collection of water bottles. "I don't like sweet things."

"That explains a lot," Tobio said, gaze shifting down to look at Tooru.

Tooru looked up and glared at Tobio. "Oi, fuck off."

Hajime hiked up Tooru's legs before prying them off. Tooru falling to the ground would usually be a hysterical sight, but considering he shrieked like a teen in a horror movie, it was no longer entertaining. Everyone cringed, their headaches becoming stronger thanks to Tooru's vocal cords. Iwaizumi helped Tooru to his feet, muttering an apology as he kissed his husband's temple.

Tobio wondered if he had been fifth wheeling the entire night. Either way, he couldn't remember.

"Did Yachi-chan go home?" Tooru asked, leaning over the island, so half his body took up space. Tobio shifted to the very end of the island, so he was now across from Tooru. When the two made eye contact, Tooru made a silly face. Even as adults, Tooru loved to push Tobio's buttons. He found a way to be both endearing and annoying all at once, and Tobio didn't know if he liked it or not.

Tadashi nodded, leaning against the counter as he chugged the water Hajime gave him. "Maybe, my phone's dead." He pulled out his phone, showing the group the blank screen. Hajime muttered something about a charger behind Tadashi before he grabbed Toro by the waist and forced him to stand properly. "She's probably back at the hotel. I'll go there later; I need to find my keys, my shoes and take Tobio out for milkshakes. We need something sweet if we're gonna survive."

Tobio perked at the offer. If there was one thing he loved just as much as volleyball, it was milkshakes with Tadashi.

Hajime was walking around the kitchen, passing behind Tobio when he suddenly froze. "Uh, hey, just checking, you're girlfriend, she's a tattoo artist, right?"

"Hm? Yeah, why?"

"Uh," Hajime covered his mouth as he continued to stare, "does she carry her things around with her? Like, her gun and shit?"

"No. Why?"

When Hajime didn't say anything, Tobio turned his head. Hajime was staring directly at him. Specifically, his lower back.

Horror settled over Tobio as he realized what that horrible pain in his back was.

Tadashi and Tooru picked up on what Hajime was trying to say and raced to stand behind Tobio. Tadashi gasped while Tooru howled with laughter. He was quickly silenced by Hajime smacking a hand over his mouth; they all took a moment for their headaches to go back down before returning to the main problem.

"What is it? If it's a tramp stamp, you don't know me."

Tadashi stuck out his hand before deciding that wasn't a good idea and pulling it back. "Uh, it's not a tramp stamp. It isn't even that bad! It's just . . . it's just - "

"Just what?" Tobio snapped.

"It looks like something a five-year-old would draw," Tooru finally said, smiling. Even though he looked thoroughly amused, there was a glint of concern in his eyes. "Like when a kid makes a mistake in their art, so they take a black crayon and try to scribble out the mistake. That's on your back."

A long pause of silence fell over the kitchen. Tooru was biting his thumb, Hajime was covering his face in disbelief, and Tadashi was still debating whether or not he should touch Tobio's newest mistake.

Tobio broke the stillness when he smacked his head into the marble beneath him.

.

.

As the day progressed, the previous night became clearer; the group met at the bar, where they exchanged pleasantries before taking a round of shots. Sometimes into catching up, Tooru started talking about how he'd gotten better at taking tequila shots. Tooru had changed a lot from high school, but he still couldn't resist the chance to challenge Tobio. That ended in the two of them taking a concerning amount of tequila shots.

Tadashi decided, "fuck the peace," and joined in sometime around shot five. Hajime and Hitoka tried to be the responsible ones for a good while before they gave up and joined the disaster. Tobio lost track of the night after that, but the collection of pictures and videos in his phone - along with the ones in the others' - jogged his memory. The lot of them had gotten into a collection of hijinks during the night.

Tadashi nearly got into a fistfight with some scrawny college kid. Hitoka gave some life advice to a group of sorority girls they stumbled upon during bar-hopping. Tooru serenaded Hajime- even blackout drunk, Tooru was an amazing singer. Tobio stole a pedestrian warning sign that he eventually threw into a bush when Tadashi spotted a police officer down the street - Tadashi also had the balls to made pig noises when they passed the same police officer. Hajime took a detour at a Hooters and hyped up every girl he spotted. They found a shopping cart and all stacked up into it as Hajime pushed them down the street.

They lost Tadashi and Hitoka at some point and spent fifteen minutes searching for the couple before finding them making out in an alleyway.

Tobio and Tooru said, "I get that a lot," whenever fans came up to them asking if they were THE Tobio Kageyama and Tooru Oikawa. They found a karaoke bar, and Tadashi showed off his vocal skills by singing a cover of the English song "Dream On." The performance was all on Hitoka's phone, and she provided some less than appropriate commentary throughout the entire video.

The last puzzle piece - the one explaining the horrendous tattoo on Tobio's back - came in when Hajime sent a video of Tobio talking to a guy around their age. He had dyed green hair in an undercut, covered head-to-toe in tattoos, wearing a very loose dark grey tank top. It was clear Tobio was flirting with the guy, and he was flirting back, and through the loud music - and Tadashi's cheers of, "Get it, Tobio!" - Tobio heard himself ask, "Do all tattoo artists carrying their guns around, or are you just special?"

And there it was. Tobio drunk, gay ass let another drunk gay tattoo his back.

Wonderful, and he didn't even get the guy's number in the end.

Tadashi called Hitoka the second he phone was charged enough, and she came to the Oikawa apartment within thirty minutes holding a leather bag. Hajime and Tooru left for milkshakes, like the parents they were, and came back around the time Hitoka finished bandaging up the tattoo. Tooru had made as many jokes and quips as he could before Hajime made him shut up.

"How bad is it?" Hajime asked, handing Tobio his strawberry milkshake with a comforting smile. "We start practice in two months."

Hitoka rubbed the edges of the bandage. "He'll be healed up in a few weeks. Despite being one of the worst tattoos I've ever seen in my life, it was made with care." Tadashi, who was slurping on his peach milkshake, walked around so he could get a better look at the tattoo. Tobio felt like a canvas to the two tattoo artists. "A cover-up is your best option, one that can be done in one sitting. That'll heal up just in time for practice."

"You can tell that just by looking at it?" Hajime asked, an amazed look on his and Tooru's faces.

"She's amazing, isn't she?" Tadashi leaned down to kiss Hitoka's temple. "And she's right. A cover-up is the best idea; it's faster and cheaper."

"Great," Tobio exhaled, "but how fast can we get an appointment."

Tadashi pulled out his phone instantly. "I know someone."

"Mysterious," Tooru stage-whispered.

.

.

The phone rang loudly, startling the people in the waiting room. They all turned their heads towards the red phone on the wall, a landline. As it continued to ring, someone yelled from a distant room, "Are you waiting for an invitation, Yuuji?! Answer it!"

After a small clatter, Yuuji sprinted from around the corner. He shot a smile to the staring patrons before answering the phone. "Thanks for calling Hibiscus Tattoo Parlor. This is Yuuji; how may I help you?"

_"How professional."_

"Freckles! To what do I owe the pleasure?"

_"I have a friend with a god awful tattoo; think you can help him out?"_

Yuuji hissed through his teeth. "Sorry, Tadashi, I'm booked for a month straight." Yuuji drummed his fingers on the phone as he tried to come up with something. A lightbulb went off in his head. "Hey, I think I got someone in mind. I'll text you if it works out, yeah?"

_"You're the best, Yuuji."_

"Anything for you, Freckles. Tell Tweety Bird I say hi." Yuuji quickly hung up the phone. "Hey, Shoyo! I think I got something for you!"

.

.

If there was one thing Tobio learned by watching people as a way to learn how to be good at socializing, it was that if a group of people had something in common, personality differences meant nothing.

This became evident as Tobio watched bright, peppy Hitoka talk adamantly with a group of men dressed in leather and covered in tattoos. Tadashi stood at her side with his arms slinked around her waist, smiling lazily at the scrawny stoner he was having a conversation with.

Hajime, Tooru, and Oikawa observed, awkwardly standing a good distance away. They all felt out-of-place in the darkly lit tattoo parlor. The walls were a red and black checkered pattern, the floor solid black marble. The waiting room was a small conversation pit with surprisingly well-kept leather couches. On a solid black wall, framed pictures of sketches were presented.

The owner of the shop, Terushima Yuuji, was a young man who dropped out of college to run the store. He had bleach-blonde hair in a slicked-back style, at least five piercings in each ear, and tattoos that covered nearly every inch of his body except his face.

He was a flirt and made sure to use every pick-up line in the book when the group walked into the shop. Tadashi and Hitoka reacted normally as if they were used to it, while Hajime and Tooru shared jealous expressions. Tobio was unfortunately not as confident when drunk, so when presented with a hot dude covered in piercings and tattoos who was flirting with him, Tobio could only stutter.

Hitoka waved goodbye to the group she was talking with and walked over to the three men she abandoned. Tadashi slapped the stoner's shoulder before catching up with the group, smiling with a giggle when Tobio glared at him.

"Sorry, we got caught up exchanging tattoo horror stories."

Tadashi raised his eyebrows with a playful smile. Tobio hated it.

Terushima came around soon after, ushering the group into the break room, a room filled with comfortable looking couches and chairs, plus a small kitchenette in the back. Hitoka and Tadashi flopped onto one of the couches like it was their living room while Hajime awkwardly invited Tooru to sit on his lap in the small leather chair.

Tobio buried his hands into his pockets, choosing to stand.

"Alright, so we usually leave cover-ups to me since I have more experience, but I have way too much on my plate to even consider helping you out," Terushima explained, walking around the break room like he was searching for something, "but lucky for you, Kageyama, I have someone who is just as good as me . . . if only I could FIND HIM!"

A few seconds passed before a door Tobio didn't even realize he was standing by swung open. He jumped to the side, stumbling over his feet with a flush. Tooru buried his fist into his mouth to conceal his laugher.

"Shut up, Yuuji, I'm right here, aren't I?"

Tobio's mouth turned dry, and his knees felt weak.

Holy shit, this guy was hot.

He was shorter than every male in the room, but he made up for it in pure muscle. His arms were thick, his shoulders straining against the fabric of his black t-shirt, and his jeans were tight enough to show off the curves of his thick thighs.

His orange hair was messy with an undercut dyed a darker shade of orange. His ears had a small point to them, and he had three silver industrial piercings in a stack. His bottom lip was pierced - snakebites - and a quick swipe of his tongue showed a small, black, plate-like piercing on the pink muscle.

His arms were covered in a garden of bright, vibrant flowers, starting at his wrists and going all the way to his neck. He rolled his shoulders, the small movement showing even more tattoos on his lower half.

"Wonderful of you to join us, Shoyo," Terushima chuckled, "that's the guy you're doing a cover-up for."

The man turned his attention to Tobio, eyes slowly taking him in from foot to head. Tobio tried to seem relaxed, but his red ears gave him away. The man smirked. "Nice. I'm Hinata Shoyo."

"Ka - Kageyama Tobio."

Behind him, Tobio heard Tadashi whisper, "We should've introduced them sooner."

.

.

Hinata took Tobio away from the break room fairly quickly, telling Terushima and the others he preferred talking to future clients alone. Tobio didn't think much of it until Tooru shot him a wink. Hajime smacked his husband's arm, easily picking up what Tooru was conveying. Unfortunately, Tobio did as well, and now he held a bright flush as he followed Hinata down a long hallway of black doors.

Hinata wasn't a talker. The silence wouldn't have bothered Tobio if Hinata hadn't ignored his three attempts at conversation and if Hinata's jeans didn't make his ass look like a gift from God. Tobio would never call himself a pervert, he never catcalled or made inappropriate comments on people's bodies, but he certainly felt like one. He trailed a few feet behind Hinata just in case he made a sudden stop, and this gave Tobio a perfect view of the tattoo artist's ass. In Tobio's defense, it was a good ass.

"Just so we're on the same page," Hinata suddenly spoke, deepening Tobio's blush as he forced his gaze to look at the back of Hinata's head, "you're the Tobio Kageyama who plays for the Schweiden Adlers, right?"

"Uh, yeah, I am," Tobio replied. He kept his gaze to look over Hinata's shoulder in fear that he would get caught ogling his ass like a creep. "Do you like volleyball?"

Hinata nodded. "Yeah, kinda."

Thankful for a conversation, Tobio picked up the pace to be closer to Hinata, a small smile on his face. "Have you ever played before?"

And just as quick as it'd come, the conversation ended. Hinata's relatively blank expression turned darker, his eyes losing the little bit of color they had left. Tobio frowned, though he couldn't tell if he was disappointed in himself for making Hinata upset or if he was upset with Hinata for just dropping the conversation. He didn't even have the decency to give a half-baked response.

"This is my room," Hinata suddenly said, stopping at one of the last doors in the hallway. The black door had various doodles in paint marker, flowers. A metal, rectangular plate on the door read _Hinata S._ Hinata pulled out a key from his pocket and quickly unlocked the door. It swung open to reveal the brightly lit room with a leather chair, a table filled with inks and needles, and a desk covered in papers. "Sit at the desk over there."

Tobio did as told and walked over to the desk, sitting down in the leather cushion seat. Hinata rustled around behind him for a few seconds before taking the seat behind the desk. He grabbed a bunch of papers, stacking them up in an uneven fashion, then pulled the calendar towards him. In his mouth were various pens of different colors. Through the pens, Hinata said, "Pick a color."

"Uh, why?"

"I like to color-code my clients, makes it easier to tell who's appointment is coming up at first glance. Pick a color."

"Indigo," Tobio mumbled, pointing at the click pen in the middle of the pen collection. Hinata grabbed it quickly, taking out the other pens. He dumped them in a cup, scribbled down a note to disinfect them, then looked down at his calendar. "I'd like to get started as soon as possible if that works with you."

Hinata nodded. "I mostly do cover-ups and bigger projects. They take longer, and the appointments get spaced out a lot, but they pay well." Tapping the pencil against the calendar, Hinata chewed at his lip. Tobio's eyes trained on the tattoo artist's lips; they weren't dry, had a natural pink to them, and Tobio could barely make out the snake bites on his tongue. "How many weeks ago did you get . . . that disaster?"

"Three. Hitoka checked it yesterday and said it should be good to tattoo over in a week."

Hinata nodded. "Perfect. I have to put the finishing touches on someone else's tattoo on Wednesday, but then I'm free all day. Can you do Wednesday, 5 p.m.?"

"That's perfect, yes."

Now that it was happening, Tobio realized how easy it was to talk to Hinata. From the second he walked into the room, the tattoo artist's mood had shot up, the spark in his eye returning brighter than before.

"Great," Hinata scribbled it down on his calendar then nodded towards the chair, "take your shirt off and lie down on your stomach; we can start talking ideas."

Tobio, having years of experience in changing in the locker room, had no hesitation in taking off his shirt. He folded it as best as he could then turned in every-which-way to find a place to put the shirt. Hinata, still looking down at his desk, pointed towards a chair next to the small table with inks and needles. Tobio set it down there then looked down at the chair.

"I have to put it down, sorry," Hinata mumbled, finishing something. He looked up to tell Tobio something but stopped. He smacked his lips and shamelessly let his eyes roam down the athlete's body. Tobio turned red but made no attempts to cover himself. He didn't mind people checking him out. The fact Tobio had been admiring Hinata's ass the entire time seemed to balance it out. "Volleyball player," Hinata said, smirking.

Tobio laughed. Hinata crossed the room and adjusted the chair, so it was now a table. Slapping the leather, Hinata nodded to Tobio. Hinata jogged around the room, grabbing papers that were scattered all around. Tobio watched the tattoo artist out of the corner of his eye before turning his attention to the wall in front of him. It was similar to the wall in the waiting room, filled with framed photos of sketches.

All sketches were detailed, large, and somehow incorporated flowers.

"I never want a tattoo to be the same," Hinata suddenly said, stepping into Tobio's line of sight so he could point at some of the drawings, "so whenever I tattoo someone, I make sure to frame the pictures and hang them up."

"Ever have people ask to get them tattooed?" Tobio asked.

Hinata nodded. "If I had one yen for every time I've been asked to recreate a sketch, I wouldn't be working here." Tobio chuckled a bit. Hinata walked around Tobio, hands touching his back. His hands were warm but comforting, like a thick blanket you curl around yourself in winter. The analogy made Tobio flush a bit. "So, tell me, Kageyama, how does one manage to get a tattoo this bad?"

"A concerning amount of tequila shots and a failed attempt at flirting."

Even though he couldn't see his face, Tobio knew Hinata was smiling. "A terrible concoction."

Hinata pressed his palm to Tobio's back. "Does that hurt?"

"A little uncomfortable, but no."

Hinata hummed. He did the same thing for about a minute, pressing his warm hand and fingers into Tobio's skin while asking if it hurts. Tobio shouldn't have been blushing as much as he was, but Hinata's tone and choice of words brought upon memories from drunken nights in his early twenties. Nights that involved hands, the removal of clothes, and breathless words.

Tobio buried his face into the table.

"Your friend must be a skilled artist," Hinata said, his warmth vanishing from Tobio's back, "her prediction was spot on. I'll be able to tattoo this in no time." Tobio turned his head so he could watch Hinata take a seat. He picked up Tobio's shirt, narrowed his eyes at it, then quickly refolded it. It was such a fluid movement Tobio almost missed it. Hinata set Tobio's shirt down at the end of the table, took a seat, and pulled out a beaten out, black spiral sketchbook. "If you're okay with it, I'd like to do something with flowers.”

With a small chuckle, Tobio said, "I can tell. Why do you like flowers so much?"

Hinata went quiet for a few seconds. Tobio felt his stomach drop. Did he ruin another conversation?

"My mom died a few years ago, right before I started working as a real artist. She owned a flower store."

"That's . . . really nice."

Hinata nodded. "I like to think so." He stuck the pencil out and ran the eraser on the lines. "Some of the lines are too close, but for the most part, they're evenly spaced. I could add some leaves and flowers. Do you have any idea what flower you want to use?"

"I don't know any other flower besides roses and sunflowers."

"I can already tell you we're not gonna do that." Hinata sighed. He chewed the eraser, staring at Tobio's back for a few seconds. 

"Hollyhocks."

"Holly-what?"

"Hollyhocks, they're my favorite. We can use indigo or purple."

Tobio nodded.

"You have no idea what you want, do you?"

"No, not at all."

Hinata laughed. "Okay, I can handle that. It takes a bit of faith to trust someone completely with your tattoo, and we're strangers, but . . . I promise I know what I'm doing."

"Well, I trust you."

Hinata's lips upturned into a small smile. "That's nice to hear, Kageyama."

When Hinata and Tobio finished discussing the details, they headed back to the backroom, finally making small talk as they walked. Once he finished telling Tobio a story about his little sister, the tattoo artist pulled his phone out.

"Here," he said, handing Tobio his phone, "put your number in, then I can text you the sketch when it's finished."

With a small flush, Tobio took Hinata's phone and put his contact information in. Hinata was unphased by the interaction besides a small smirk on his lips. "Wonderful."

They entered the breakroom where Hitoka and Tadashi were talking with Yuuji, small blushes on all their faces. Hajime hugged Tooru from behind, resting his chin on the volleyball player's shoulder as they talked with a tall male with slightly tan skin and flat brown hair. He had a lot of neck tattoos along with a hell of a lot of ear piercings.

Hinata slapped the man on the shoulder before walking over to Terushima. "After my finish-up with Nikko, we're gonna start his cover-up. If you walk into my room while I'm working, I will pull your piercing out, got it?"

"I messed up one sketch, Shoyo, one."

"Still a sketch that took five hours to do, Yuuji, five."

Tobio watched the interaction with a smirk. It was the kind he and Tadashi would have.

The man who was talking with Hajime and Tooru approached the two artists. "They want something simple, so the appointment is tomorrow."

Terushima nodded. "Sounds good to me. Shoyo?"

"How does that affect me in any way?"

"We wanted to include you, Shoyo."

Hinata blinked a couple of times before he walked off into the kitchen. Terushima nodded towards the group. "Well, that should be it. Follow me outside, and we can figure out how much this will cost, yeah?"

Hajime and Tooru nodded, following the three tattoo artists out of the break room. Tobio glanced towards the kitchen. Hinata was leaning on the counter, in a position that showed off his ass. Tobio turned red, the blush and embarrassment deepening when the tattoo artist glanced over and smirked.

.

.

"He was flirting with you," Tadashi helpfully informed as the group walked towards a burger joint.

Tobio blushed a bit. "Yeah, I know."

"Did you flirt back?"

"I - no, I didn't."

Tooru sighed dramatically. "Hajime, what are we going to do with Tobio? If he doesn't get married soon, we'll never have grandchildren."

Tadashi snorted, covering his mouth before throwing his head back in laughter. Hitoka, who was leading the group, cackled loudly. Hajime and Tobio shared tired looks. Tooru's new favorite joke was about how Tobio was "worrying his parents," who just so happened to be him and Hajime.

"Tobio isn't our child - "

"Isn't he, though?"

"He is not," Hajime continued, "and he'll see Hinata again. There's plenty for time for Tobio to make a move."

"Like he'd ever get the balls to," Tadashi said once his laughter subsided, "he's like me in high school."

Hitoka shook her head. "No one can ever be that bad at flirting, babe."

It was Tobio's turn to laugh.

.

.

Two days later, Tobio received a text from Hinata.

 **Hinata:** _Don't let my efforts go unnoticed! This took many hours to complete  
_ **Hinata:** _One Attachment Image Sent_ _  
_

The sketch, in short, was gorgeous.

A detailed drawing of hollyhock flowers on a connected black vine. Tobio's untrained eyes couldn't find a single thing he hated about the sketch, and he would have shown it to Tadashi if he hadn't already left for Sendai with Hitoka.

 **Tobio:** _It's amazing_ **  
Tobio:** _That's going on me?_

 **Hinata:** _Who else would it be on?_ **  
** **Hinata:** _Glad you like it  
_ **Hinata:** _It's the only sketch I'll be doing this week_

 **Tobio:** _I'm honored?_

 **Hinata:** _You should be! My talents shouldn't be wasted like this, but I make generous sacrifices._

With a snort, Tobio fell onto the couch.

 **Tobio:** _Apologies for being so foolish, great one_

 **Hinata:** _And here I thought you didn't have a sense of humor  
_ **Hinata:** _Color me impressed, Kageyama Tobio_

 **Tobio:** _Thank you, Hinata Shoyo._

It was rare Tobio got to text like this. Unless it was with Tadashi, most of Tobio's text conversations were bland reminders about dinners or practices. Besides, Tobio's texts with Tadashi never made his heart flutter like he was a teenager again. The last time Tobio got all excited over a text was his second year of high school when he started dating one of the first years.

They kept on like that, throwing dramatic words at one another while also getting to know one another bit-by-bit.

By the time the two parted with a good night, Tobio couldn't help the overjoyed grin on his face. When was the last time he was this happy?

.

.

Shoyo sniffled, rubbing his tired eyes as he dragged himself around his shitty, Tokyo studio apartment. It was a tight space with a kitchen for one person, a twin size bed just too-short for Shoyo, and the neighbors were loud, but it was home.

On the fridge were pictures of high school friends and co-workers, along with photos of Natsu throughout the years. Shoyo pulled the picture of Natsu on her first day of high school down and smiled at it fondly. His sister was bright, the light of Shoyo's life, and he always found himself missing her; he wished he could've taken her to Tokyo with him, but she was happy living with their aunt.

Shoyo put the picture back and started making breakfast. Shoyo was proud of his cooking skills; he could make whatever he wanted out of whatever food was offered to him, which was lucky for him since he hadn't gone to the grocery store in a few weeks. Was it unhealthy? Yes. Was it saving him money? Yes. You win some. You lose some.

A small bowl of microwave ramen with an egg on top was good enough, Shoyo decided.

He finished the food quickly, washing the dishes before starting to get ready for the day.

Most of it was spent in the bathroom - showering, brushing his teeth, putting in whatever piercings he took out for bed, and fixing his hair. Changing was never hard. His closet consisted mostly of t-shirts - plain and floral - with hoodies for the colder season.

Shoyo grabbed a red v-neck along with a pair of black jeans.

He finished the look off with an old pair of sports shoes then grabbed his phone from the charger.

**Fucking Yuuji:** _Running late. Have to drop off bills. Open up for me?_

**Shoyo:** _You're a trashy boss_

**Fucking Yuuji:** _But a boss nonetheless; I can fire you_

**Shoyo:** _Would you, though?_

**Fucking Yuuji:** _I could never; I'd die without you.  
_ **Fucking Yuuji:** _Will you please open up?_

 **Shoyo:** _Yeah, obviously_

Shoyo didn't wait for Yuuji to say thanks or anything dramatic.

He sent Natsu a "have fun at school" text and reminded his aunt to pick up her prescription.

Before he closed his phone, Shoyo spotted his most recent contact: Kageyama Tobio.

Shoyo juggled with the idea of texting Kageyama, worried he'd wake him up, but then he remembered Kageyama was an athlete and the chances of him being awake were high.

**Shoyo:** _I'm willing to bet anything that you're awake, you freak._

**Kageyama Tobio:** _So are you, freak_

**Shoyo:** _I'm a freak in many different ways ;)_

A reply from Kageyama took a lot longer to come. Shoyo expected that much; despite his physique and awkward but charming personality, Kageyama screamed, "VIRGIN!" Shoyo had to assume he'd done plenty of sexual things since he picked up on Shoyo's innuendos from the previous night, but he highly doubted the athlete had ever gone all the way.

**Kageyama Tobio:** _Bold, aren't we?_

**Shoyo:** _It's what I do best_

 **Shoyo:** _Go back to whatever you were doing. Yuuji can't mail the bills, so I have to open the shop._

 **Kageyama Tobio:** _Have fun with that._

.

.

When Shoyo showed up at the shop with a tall, fresh, and unopened can of Bang, a few of his coworkers stood outside with similar beverages in their hands. Everyone exchanged words as Shoyo unlocked the doors. Once the lights were on, everyone went to their own rooms to prepare for the wave of clients that would be coming in soon. Shoyo luckily had only two appointments that day. The rest of the day would be spent sketching.

Shoyo's first appointment was starting from scratch on a college kid's thigh. It was a medium-sized drawing of an island flower with enough detail to leave Shoyo's fingers stiff when he finished. The guy was nice enough in the fact he didn't mind when Shoyo would take a break to roll out his wrist or take a quick chug of Bang, but it was his first tattoo. Shoyo found himself hoping many times he wouldn't end up with a fainted man on his floor.

Thankfully that didn't happen, and by lunch, Shoyo was standing on his chair to add another framed sketch to his wall.

There was a small knock on the door, waiting for Shoyo to say, "Come in!"

"Shouldn't you be standing on a chair that doesn't, you know, have wheels on it?"

Smiling, Shoyo turned to the visitor. "Shouldn't you be, you know, playing volleyball?"

Kageyama chuckled, a small pink blush on his cheeks. "I'm on break for a while."

"Why?"

"Legally, I am not allowed to say."

With a whistle, Shoyo jumped down from his chair. He flopped into it and watched Kageyama roam around the room. "What brings you? Your appointment isn't for another four days."

"I came with Hajime and Tooru; they're down the hall getting their tattoos."

"Where do I come in?" Shoyo said, purposefully getting closer to Kageyama with every passing second. He leaned over to prop his arms on his knees and stare up at a blushing Kageyama.

"I, uh, the woman next door said you aren't busy right now, so I figured I'd say hi."

"And they say chivalry is dead." Shoyo stood from his chair, pushing it back into place. He rubbed his back with a heavy sigh. "Jesus, I need to see a chiropractor."

Kageyama was suddenly closer to Shoyo, hands holding his back carefully. His fingers were long, thick, and pressing into his stiff spots. The confidence Shoyo previously had was slowly torn away from him as Kageyama continued to massage his sore muscles. Jesus, he was great at giving massages.

"Sorry, is this okay?" Kageyama asked when his hands moved further up Shoyo's body.

Shoyo could only nod, worried what noise would come out instead of words.

Kageyama's grip turned firmer. One of his hands moved to the front of Shoyo's body, holding his stomach firmly. His second hand dropped down to the stiffest part of Shoyo's back. Kageyama leaned forward to put pressure on Shoyo's back. A small groan slipped through Shoyo's lips. Kageyama seemed to freeze for a small moment before continuing.

After a few minutes of pressing and pulling away, Kageyama walked the two forward towards the counter. Shoyo instinctively grabbed onto the sturdiest thing in front of him, but he held back from leaning forward.

"Breath in," Kageyama mumbled.

Shoyo inhaled sharply, probably not what Kageyama wanted. His hands were shaking, knuckles white from how tight he was holding the counter.

"Breath out."

When Shoyo exhaled, Kageyama pushed forward.

The crack of his back was loud, as was the groan Shoyo made.

There was a beat of stillness where Kageyama's hands lingered on Shoyo's body. Then they both came back to the real world and jumped away from each other with bright faces.

Kageyama was looking anywhere but Shoyo, who was rubbing his back. As embarrassing - and suggestive - as that was, Shoyo's back had never felt better.

Regaining his confidence, Shoyo bumped his arm with Kageyama's. "So, lunch?"

.

.

The burger joint Kageyama took Shoyo was small but lively. It was a fairly old place with black and white tiled floors, red booths, and a jukebox. Shoyo especially enjoyed the random doodles on the Employees Only door.

Kageyama had to wear a cap for it, but Shoyo didn't mind. In his humble opinion, it made him look hot.

"Tadashi loves this place," Kageyama said as the two fell into an available booth, "he found it when he was drunk; stumbled in and sang along to every song that played." Kageyama looked around for a few seconds before pointing to a wall of framed pictures.

Shoyo recognized Kageyama's best friend in one of the photos, holding an old-styled microphone.

He laughed. "Your friends are fun."

"Your's aren't?"

"No, they are, but . . . they're fun in the 'this-is-gonna-get-us-arrested' way."

"Those are the most fun people, though," Kageyama joked. When Shoyo laughed, he smiled, seemingly proud of himself. "Tadashi got us arrested one time, actually."

Shoyo slapped the table. "Why am I just now hearing this? You're a criminal."

"I don't really understand what's so illegal about stealing a stop sign, but maybe that's just me being bitter for getting arrested." When Shoyo's laughter died down, Kageyama gestured to him. "Your turn. What's your illegal story?"

Whistling, Shoyo leaned in. "Buckle up, buttercup."

.

.

Shoyo was two minutes away from pushing his lunch break.

He'd gotten way too caught up with talking to Kageyama - it was mostly flirting, to be honest - and he had to sprint three blocks to make sure he wasn't late to work.

He managed, but not without getting scolded by every coworker he walked by.

Then again, nothing could stop Shoyo from smiling, especially when his phone buzzed with a text.

 **Kageyama Tobio:** _I won't rat you out to the police if we do that again_

 **Shoyo:** _As nice as the idea of handcuffs sounds, I'd much prefer seeing you.  
_ **Shoyo:** _You pick a date; I'm there_

.

.

"Thank you! I love it so much!" Shoyo's second and last client of the day cheered, smiling brightly.

She was on the older side but took the needles like a champ. Her daughter came with her, someone much younger who took a lot of chances to flirt with the staff, Shoyo included. Is Yuuji wasn't so invested with Kageyama's best friends, Shoyo would've encouraged the two to go out.

When the two women left Shoyo's room, he rolled his shoulders out and scanned the room for his sketchbook. The rest of the day was dedicated to sketches, Shoyo reminded himself as he flipped the old book open.

The sketchbook was thick, with about 300 pages. There were about twenty pages left of the book.

"Christ, I'm gonna have to buy a new one," Shoyo mumbled to himself, carrying the book around the room as he tried to come up with something to draw. Well, he had plenty of things he wanted to draw, but this was his work sketchbook, and Kageyama Tobio definitely wasn't a flower. "Bluebells," Shoyo decided.

He sat down on the floor, holding his pens and pencils between his teeth as he searched for a reference on his phone. The starting process was always the hardest, but the second he started, Shoyo couldn't stop.

However, today, as Shoyo sketched out a bluebell flower, he found himself taking unfamiliar pauses to think about the tall volleyball player he'd be tattooing in four days.

He'd never been this excited for an appointment, not since his first.


	2. Chapter 2

**Tobio:** _It's 4 AM, and I'm awake, and it's your fault_

**Hinata:** _ Technically, it's your own fault for getting turned on _

**Tobio:** _ Sure, but you're the one who turned me on, ergo, your fault _

**Hinata:** _ Do I help my case if I say I woke up at 3 AM because of you? _

**Tobio:** _ Perhaps _

**Hinata:** _What else do you want from me, sir?_

**Tobio:** _ That is for you to decide and me to wait to see _

There were a few minutes; a few minutes where Tobio stared at his screen with fully-open eyes, breath baited with every passing second. He worried Hinata either went back to sleep to leave him hanging or was just disgusted with him and was coming up with something to say.

Both were proven wrong when Hinata finally responded.

**Hinata:** _ One Attachment Image Sent _

**Hinata:** _ Does this satisfy your needs? _

**Tobio:** _ I was not expecting that, but I am not complaining _

Any hopes of going back to sleep were dashed, and Tobio got comfortable.

.

.

The room was prepared when Tobio arrived; the heater on, the lights dimmed just enough for Hinata to work but not strain their eyes, and the said tattoo artist was preparing the ink and needles.

Hinata's tight jeans and shirt were replaced with sweatpants and a loose t-shirt, sleeves rolled up to the shoulder to show off his detailed tattoos. The curve of his muscles didn't obscure the drawings, rather made them look better. Tobio hesitated a few steps away from the table as he stared at Hinata's arms; he wanted to pin them to the bed . . . or be pinned by them. He wasn't picky.

As Tobio pulled off his shirt, he thought about the less than appropriate things he and Hinata did over the four days between getting lunch and now. Especially that very morning. The mere memory made Tobio's entire body turn hot, cheeks, and shoulders now a light pink.

When his shirt was completely off, Hinata wolf-whistled, not a lick of shame evident. "Your body is a gift, Kageyama."

Chuckling, Tobio sat down on the table. "Is this what we're gonna do? I'm going to exist, and you're going to be horny?"

"I'm a professional," Hinata said, gesturing towards his materials, "my horniness will be repressed until the end of this appointment."

"I doubt it."

Hinata looked Tobio up and down, eyes lingering on his abs. His tongue darted out to lick his lips. "You might be right."

The first ten minutes were spent preparing Tobio for the needles. The volleyball player had convinced himself he would be fine, that he wouldn't be in as much pain as Tadashi warned him. Then again, he should've known better than to doubt a professional over his ego.

Shit hurt.

Tobio wasn't afraid of needles; he never had a problem with them, even as a child.

But he could recognize pain when it was there.

Thankfully, Tadashi helped Tobio prepare, and he eventually found himself pulling a Nintendo Switch from his bag.

"What're you playing?" Hinata asked during a small break - time for Tobio to ease up and for Hinata to massage his sore wrist.

"Toad's Treasure Planet."

Hinata leaned over Tobio's body, arms caging his head. "My sister loves this game. I'd like it if I could get past the Toadette Volcano stage."

Despite his growing flush and dwindling focus, Tobio laughed. He waved the console. "I'm not that good; it took me two weeks to figure out the camera."

Hinata laughed at that, soon returning to his work. Tobio could barely focus on his game; his mind was too busy with fantasies of Hinata's arms.

.

.

Three hours in - Tobio had gotten through six levels of his game, something Hinata swore to forever hold over his head - and the two were chewing on fries Terushima brought them.

"It's looking good," Hinata commented, stealing a couple of fries from Tobio's box, "I knew a watercolor would look good on you."

"If Tadashi and Hitoka weren't so passionate about their careers, I would have no idea what you're talking about."

"That mind is filled with only volleyball, huh?" Hinata asked, drumming his clean hand against Tobio's temples. His touch lingered for a couple of seconds, and Tobio slightly leaned into it. They sat like that for a few seconds, not making eye contact but speaking thousands of words through silence. "Finish your food; I want to get back into it."

Instead of going back to games, Tobio folded his arms and buried his face into them, ears burning.

Thankfully, when Tobio stole a glance at Hinata, the tattoo artist was just as flushed.

.

.

Five hours, thirty-five minutes, twenty-seven seconds; that's how long Tobio and Hinata stayed in that room, talking with one another or stealing looks at one another after fairly intimate moments.

They were sore, stiff, and Tobio hoped he wasn't speaking for himself - turned on.

"Keep it dry for a few days, check for infections or bleeding, don't do anything too physically demanding until at least day five - no weight-lifting, no jumping, light jogging if you have to run, and no sex," Hinata explained as the two finished up the details of the tattoo. Tobio's gaze lifted upwards at the words; there was no doubt Hinata had said those words countless times before, but Tobio doubted the low tone with a slight grumble was a normal thing. "Any questions?"

"Am I allowed to take flirty tattoo artists out for dinner?"

Hinata chewed on the end of his pen. "I hate to tell you this, but that isn't the first time someone has used that pick-up line on me."

Tobio hummed, not too surprised, and tore off the check. "My question still stands."

Accepting the check, Hinata smirked. "Unless you plan on taking me weight-lifting, jumping, running, or sleeping with me."

"There go my plans."

Hinata laughed, standing up and rubbing Tobio's shoulder. "We'll talk about it when you're healed."

"Is this a game? Am I losing?"

"It's called playing coy, Bakayama."

Tobio stared up at Hinata from his sitting position, grinding his teeth to keep from saying something stupid.

He failed.

"I'm not a good fisher."

Hinata howled with laughter.

.

.

"I'm not a good fisher! I'M NOT A GOOD FISHER! Kill me, kill me now, Hajime, please."

Tobio flopped onto the couch, groaning into the cushions the second his face was buried.

From the kitchen, Hajime glanced over his shoulder at Tobio and Tooru in the living room. The older setter had his feet propped up on the coffee table, eyes focused on the volleyball match on the TV but hand extended outwards to play with Tobio's hair. Hajime glanced down at the food he was making; food for three rather than two. It was then the younger Oikawa realized Tooru's joke was steadily becoming a reality.

"Still better than how Hajime asked me out."

Panic settled over Hajime as Tobio lifted his head. "What? What could be any worse than what I did?"

Tooru slowly turned his attention away from the TV, staring Hajime in the eyes as he said, "He asked me out in a McDonald's bathroom."

There was a small beat of silence as the married men stared at each other, and Tobio processed the information. When the gears finally settled, the youngest of the bunch stared at Tooru in confusion. "And you said  _ yes _ ?"

"I was dumb and in love."

"Keep talking! I'll spit in your food! I  _ swear _ !"

.

.

"Let me see! Let me see! Let me see!" Tadashi cheered, Hitoka clapping her hands in anticipation.

Tobio rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, hand frozen on his hip he had been scratching. He looked around the apartment he thought was empty. "How and when did you get in here?"

Tadashi pulled a silver key from his pocket. Tobio raised his eyebrows; he'd never given Tadashi a spare key out of fear he would steal all his food.

His best friends' creepy tendencies aside, Tobio walked into the living room, taking his shirt off in the process.

Hitoka gasped before squealing happily. She was quick to run her fingers over the plastic between her and Tobio's tattoo. "It's gorgeous! I've never seen anything so detailed but simple." Her tone turned quiet as she admired the tattoo. Hitoka mindlessly rambled about the beauty of the tattoo, Tadashi occasionally chiming in with his own opinions. They both loved it, in short, and Tobio agreed.

He spent at least ten minutes a day admiring the art on his back and an additional five thinking about the artist who put it on him.

.

.

**Tobio:** _ It's day five; let me take you to dinner _

**Hinata:** _ I was just about to text you about a piercing I got RIGHT after tattooing you _

**Hinata:** _ And seeing as you followed my instructions, and I'm tired of playing coy, I accept _

**Tobio:** _ Do I get to see the new piercing? _

**Hinata:** _ Not now. I need to hold the suspense. _

**Tobio:** _ You and your mysteries, Hinata Shoyo _

.

.

Tooru gave Tobio heaps of advice.

Advice Tobio promptly threw out the window.

The one thing he took to heart was something Hajime said; "Don't be a dumbass, I'm begging you, don't be a dumbass."

Tobio repeated that to himself as he followed the map on his phone to Hinata's apartment building. Tobio wasn't that good at technology, but he was great with directions; it was the one thing he could hold over all his friends, who were absolute garbage with directions.

Despite his tattoo being mostly healed, Tobio played it safe with a loose hoodie and jeans. Thankfully, Hinata took a similar route with legging-like pants and a t-shirt. Another bonus, Hinata didn't care one bit about the hat and face mask Tobio had to wear.

"Makes me feel special," the tattoo artist commented when Tobio apologized.

"You're a dork." Tobio rolled his eyes, throwing an arm around Hinata's shoulders to push him into the crowd. "Don't know what that says about me, though."

Hinata squeezed Tobio's bicep before linking his hand with the one hanging off of his shoulder. His hands were warm while Tobio's were fairly cold; a good mash-up.

.

.

"This date is over."

"Sit the fuck back down."

"No, I refuse to be seen with a flat-earther."

Tobio lurched over the table to grab Hinata's wrist, pulling the shorter male back into his booth. Both smiled at one another.

Hinata fixed his position so he was slightly slumped, foot brushing against Tobio's shin with every small movement. "We're going to pretend you didn't just try telling me the earth is flat and instead talk about volleyball."

"Are you sure?" Tobio asked. He played with a stray fry on his plate. "You didn't seem too fond of the topic when we first met."

Hinata laughed awkwardly. "Yeah, that's because . . . yeah, I wanted to play volleyball, but I just wasn't good enough, so I gave up. Probably earlier than I should've, but I'm happy; I still like volleyball, but just not as much as I used to." Tobio reached his pinkie out, watching Hinata carefully as he interlocked them. The tattoo artist smiled. "What about you? Karasuno alumni, right?"

"Mhm, Tadashi and Hitoka, too. Tadashi was a pinch server and captain our third year, I was his vice captain." Tobio used his free hand to open his phone, scrolling through a large collection of pictures to find one of him and Tadashi wearing their number 1 and 2 jerseys. "I can barely recognize him."

Hinata leaned forward, laughing at the sight of a piercing-less Tadashi. "Dude, he's a totally different person." He zoomed in on the image. "You look about the same; you're more muscular, though." Hinata never missed a chance to talk about Tobio's muscles. "Was Karasuno fun? I remember I wanted to go there before, well, I gave up. I went to the same high school as my middle school buddies, learned how to draw while taking care of my mom's flower shop."

Tobio turned his phone off with a small laugh. "Yeah, Karasuno was . . . awesome. Our team was amazing in so many ways; every day I wondered what kind of things would happen. One time, when I was a second year, our ace and I collided so badly, we had to be taken out of the game for stitches." Hinata covered his mouth with his free hand and laughed weakly. "Our libero got stuck in the net trying to set the ball, and we had to cut him out . . . I might have a picture." He drummed on the screen of his phone. "Oh, my upperclassmen, Sugawara, he was . . . insane. He somehow managed to be doting and feral at the same time." Tobio used his knuckle to rub Hinata's pinkie. "He taught me a lot of stuff."

"Sounds amazing," Hinata said, almost wistfully.

Tobio wondered how different his life would be if Hinata hadn't given up on volleyball.

Would they be teammates? Would they be a great duo? Would Tobio still have these feelings?

He liked to think so.

Hinata shifted around a bit, but he never released Tobio's pinkie. "Okay, any other hobbies besides volleyball? I want to assume video games, but you aren't too good at those."

Tobio couldn't deny that.

"Uh . . . does masturbation count?"

Tobio wouldn't normally joke like that, but the loud laugh and smile that Hinata made was worth it every time.

"Have you ever considered comedy? Just in case volleyball doesn't work out."

"Doesn't work out? It's working out right now."

"Never hurts to have a back-up."

Tobio raised his eyebrows, a challenging glint in his eyes. "Okay, what's your back-up?"

Hinata laughed. "Tattooing is my back-up."

"Bullshit."

"I was a botny major, Kageyama," Hinata defended, not an ounce of a joke in his eyes, "I dropped out because I'm kind of stupid."

Tobio grabbed his drinks. "Cheers, bro, I'll drink to that."

Once again, Hinata laughed and Tobio's heart swelled with pride.

.

.

"And I got this one after a bet with Yuuji over whether or not I'd sleep with this dude who kept coming into the shop; I asked him out, but he was so boring I couldn't get my pants off - " Hinata explained, lifting his shirt just a bit to show Tobio a tattoo of a crow. It was smaller than his other tattoos, probably to blend into the flowers, but was still detailed with perfect lines. "I got this one for my sister," Hinata said, pushing his earlobe to the side to show Tobio a small tattoo of an orange, "I'm allergic to tangerines, but she loved to call me one when she was younger."

Tobio listened to everyone of Hinata's rambles; from the ones about random tattoos to family events, he hung off of every word just in case the ginger asked him a question. It was like studying for a test, but this time Tobio was interested in the material. 

He was holding Hinata's hand properly this time as the two of them walked back to Hinata's apartment.

"Being pegged is weird, let me tell you, especially when you're dealing with some internalized homophobia, but she was a goth chick with platform boots, so I couldn't just say  _ no _ , you know?"

"No, I don't," Tobio laughed, not concerned one bit with the strange looks people were giving them, "I've only ever dated guys."

"I've dated more guys than I have girls," Hinata said, swinging his and Tobio's intertwined hands, "but I flirt with pretty much anything with legs, especially when they're attached to someone with black hair and a body made by the gods." Hinata pressed his hand against Tobio's peck, giving it a tender squeeze before pulling the taller male out of the crowd they were walking against. "I've been carrying this conversation, tell me  _ something _ before we part for the night!"

Tobio'd been preparing for this one; the words were on the tip of his tongue from the moment Hinata asked him to walk him home.

"Invite me inside?"

Excitement gleamed in Hinata's eyes. He nodded, picking up his pace to lead Tobio into the building.

Their steps were fast as they ditched the elevator for the stairs, bounding up them with a giddy energy between them.

The biggest pause was for Hinata to unlock his door, an action he was struggling with thanks to his excitement.

Tobio took this chance to admire the male beneath him; muscles, tattoos, piercings, and a smile worth millions.

The door opened and Tobio acted. He seized Hinata by the shoulders, spinning him around and picking him up by the thighs.

Hinata made a surprised noise, kicking the front door closed. Tobio pressed him against the door.

Foreheads pressed together, warm hands against his broad chest, and lips brushing with every breath, Tobio waited for something. Something that said, "yes, keep going."

That something came in the form of Hinata breathlessly saying,  _ "Tobio." _

Hinata's lips were warm, plump, and wet. The kiss was needy from the start, starting with their teeth clicking and tongues clashing. Hinata's hands moved from Tobio's chest to the nape of his neck, digging his short nails into the skin before sliding up to hold his hair. Tobio kept a firm hold on Hinata's thighs - his plump, toned, muscular thighs. With every swipe of his tongue over Hinata's, he could feel the piercing on the pink muscle, and that added to Tobio's already painful arousal.

Tobio was almost ashamed of the whimper that left him when Hinata pulled away. Almost.

Though heavy gasps, Hinata nodded over Tobio's shoulder. "Couch."

No complaints from Tobio's side.

He carried Hinata to the couch with ease, setting the shorter male onto the small thing before being pulled down into another searing kiss.

With this new angle, Hinata's hands roamed Tobio's body, taking his sweet time to feel up every curve, every dip, every part of the body he'd been praising since day one.

"God, you're so hot," Hinata moaned, chasing Tobio's mouth when he pulled away for air.

Before diving back in for another kiss, Tobio mumbled, "So are you; I want to live between your thighs." Tobio emphazied his point by squeezing Hinata's thighs as tightly as he could.

Tobio could barely remember the last time he made out with someone, even if he could, it was nothing compared to now; being on top of Hinata Shoyo, holding his thighs and kissing him like his last meal.

"Shirt," Hinata moaned through kisses, tugging at the fabric covering Tobio's body.

Tobio swiftly removed the article and lifted Hinata up just a bit so he could do the same.

When Hinata's shirt was off, thrown over the couch to join his own, Tobio had to take a moment to inhale.

"Are these the new piercings?"

A sly smirk crossed Hinata's flushed face. "Yeah. Do you like them?"

What was there to hate about Hinata's nipple piercings?

In Tobio's humble opinion, absolutely nothing.

Instead of going back to Hinata's lips, Tobio's head dipped further down, and he flicked his tongue over one of Hinata's nipples.

Underneath him, Hinata let out a breathless moan. His hips bucked up, rubbing against Tobio's.

"Do - do that again," Hinata whispered.

Tobio hummed before he started teasing Hinata's chest, releshing in the gasps and moans coming from the tattoo artist. Every couple of moans, Hinata's hips would move up and grind against Tobio's; he would grind back, moaning at the just-barely-enough friction.

Hinata's fingers buried themselves in Tobio's hair, pulling at the locks. "To - Tobio, please, fuck."

With one final lick, Tobio captured Hinata's lips in another kiss, one a little softer than the last. 

Right now, in this tiny Tokyo studio apartment, with Hinata Shoyo underneath him, moaning his name as he grinds himself against him, Tobio was in Heaven.

.

.

"Which is the best post-sex meal? Grilled cheese or microwave ramen?"

Tobio laughed from the couch, pulling himself up to watch Hinata roam around his kitchen wearing nothing but his underwear.

His tattooed-skin was covered in hickies, a deep bite mark in on his left hip, just below the tattoo of a crow. If he could see them over the counter, Tobio would be able to see Hinata's legs shaking from the aftermath of their activities.

"Grilled cheese, I guess."

Hinata nodded. "Good, because I was lying about the ramen."

With another laugh, Tobio stood from the couch to join Hinata in the kitchen.

"I was thinking," Tobio said, jumping to sit on the counter. He watched Hinata walk around the small kitchen, grabbing the things he needed. "Maybe I should get another tattoo."

Hinata's eyes brightened. "Really?"

"Yeah."

The ginger's smile grew bright.

"On one condition."

"Oh, no, what?"

Tobio smiled, leaning forward just enough so his forehead was pressed against Hinata's.

Both they eyes gleamed with a challenge.

"Play volleyball with me."


End file.
